POET finalizes $105M DOE loan guarantee

In South Dakota,  POET  received final approval for a $105 million loan guarantee issued through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan programs Office. The loan guarantee and financing allows POET to construct Project LIBERTY, a 25 million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. POET started construction in 2010 with a 22-acre integrated stackyard to store the biomass delivered by area farmers. Preliminary site work on the biorefinery began this fall. Last year, 85 farmers around Emmetsburg harvested 56,000 tons of biomass and delivered it to POET’s 22-acre integrated stackyard. That total will increase this year in a gradual ramp-up to the 300,000 tons of biomass Project LIBERTY will need annually by the time it starts operating.